Wheelings

Chris Knight is the managing editor of the Canadian HR Reporter.

In 55 brief poems, Doris Hillis creates stark images of the natural and
human worlds, at rest and in turmoil. The poet’s solidly matriarchal
point of view is shaped by a variety of emotions and cultures. “The
Yes Prayer” and “Dancing the Honeydunce” have a Native North
American feel, while “Best Years” takes it rhythm from England,
where the author grew up. “On the First of Freyja” features a Norse
goddess whose chariot is pulled by cats. Poems about the natural cycles
of growth, death, and rebirth are interspersed with poems about personal
growth. Occasionally, the natural and human worlds are combined, as in
“Launching,” which compares a dandelion that has gone to seed with
thoughts of children: “How soon the time is ripe and you must ready /
them for the wind’s embrace.” “Colours of Rain” follows a
child’s memory of a fierce storm beating on the house while she is
tucked in bed, “until the whisperings dwindled / and the single
measured drops / pearled themselves / to silence.”